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Primary Adult Lactase Deficiency: A Problem in Anthropological Genetics 1
Author(s) -
HARRISON GAIL G.
Publication year - 1975
Publication title -
american anthropologist
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.51
H-Index - 85
eISSN - 1548-1433
pISSN - 0002-7294
DOI - 10.1525/aa.1975.77.4.02a00050
Subject(s) - lactase , trait , adaptation (eye) , etiology , demography , biology , genetics , evolutionary biology , medicine , sociology , neuroscience , biochemistry , computer science , lactose , programming language
Most human populations manifest high prevalences of primary adult lactase deficiency. The most notable exception is that populations deriving from northern and western Europe show high rates of lactase sufficiency in adults. The evidence supporting hypotheses of physiological adaptation and genetic etiology of the trait is discussed, and possible areas for further research are suggested.